Back To You
by Arcangel3012
Summary: Summary: After the battle at The Valley of the End, Naruto set out on a six year training excursion with Jiraiya. Now he is back stronger, taller and sexier. Part one of two. NarutoSakura. This is the Edited Version. If you want to read the lemon please g


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any characters from that series. Any semblances between actual characters that are not from that series and or people alive in the world today are purely coincidental.

Summary: After the battle at The Valley of the End, Naruto set out on a six year training excursion with Jiraiya. Now he is back; stronger, taller and sexier. Part one of two. Naruto/Sakura. This is the Edited Version. If you want to read the lemon please got to my author information page for the link.

Back To You

Part 1: Naruto's Return

He stood with Jiraiya, his sensei, looking through the trees to the gates of Konoha. It has been 6 years since he last stepped foot into his home. 6 years since he last failed. His hand unconsciously went to his chest. The scar of the chidori remained. Not even the fox's healing power could prevent it; not that he wanted to. It was a reminder. A reminder of his promise that he had yet to fulfill. He did not even know if he could fulfill it anymore. Orochimaru has had plenty of time to take over Sasuke's body. The question is did he or is he still using him. Naruto shook his head. He couldn't think of such things now. He came back to help his home. The war was picking up. More random attacks on Leaf Nins were happening while they were out on missions that did not involve the Sound. Jiraiya even put his perverseness aside for this task. He was all business and has been since the second year of their trip together. After the attack on the two of them, he could no longer neglect Naruto's training. Jiraiya looked over at his student.

He had lost the childish attitude after he had awoken in the hospital. Jiraiya was there, waiting for him to awaken. Once he did and got the story from Naruto, he told him to prepare to leave for training. He simply nodded and stepped out of bed. His body was wrapped in bandages and he still favored his chest a little. Jiraiya knew that Kyuubi would have him back on his feet soon. Naruto got dressed and left out the window. Returning to the gate an hour later packed and ready to leave. He left a note on his bed, telling everyone where he was going and apologizing for not saying goodbye in person. He couldn't face them after his failure. He especially couldn't look Sakura in the eye and tell her he had failed. So taking one last look at his home he turned and walked away with his sensei.

To say he had changed was an understatement. He stood about 6 foot tall now. His messy blonde hair still went everywhere but was a little longer in the back and tied into a ponytail that hung to his shoulder blades. The leaf headband still wrapped around his forehead where it never left. His garish orange jump suit was gone. He instead had on a black form fitting short sleeve shirt, dark blue pants that went down and where they tucked into his boots. His body was muscular and lean. He wasn't huge by any stretch of the imagination, but that was what he wanted. Strength only did so much in a shinobi fight; his skill was speed with enough power to back it up. He had on wrist bracers that covered the back of his hand and the fingerless gloves that went with it. Strapped to his back was his katana he had received from the people of the Wave. They had stopped through there near the beginning of their journey and had been treated as royalty. Tazuna had the katana made for Naruto as an added thank you for his efforts. He gladly accepted, always wanting to have trained with a sword.

His eyes were still the deep ocean blue that they had always been, but the pupils were more slit like now than before. A tradeoff for having tapped into more and more of the Kyuubi's power. The fox had told him that he had access to about half of his chakra or 5 tails worth. Significantly higher than the one he had before his training. Using it to transform into his more powerful fox form the first time left some residual effects. IE the eyes and his whisker marks which were slightly wider. He wondered how the villager's would take it.

_"Does it matter, Kit?"_ the Kyuubi questioned.

'No, but doesn't stop me from wondering.' Naruto mentally replied.

This had also become a habit lately. The fox could now talk to Naruto without pulling him into his subconscious. This facilitated the use of the Nine Tailed foxes chakra as well as allowed the demon fox to give him pointers. They had "sat down" and talked about what their situation was and after the fox saw his dedication towards his training, decided to help and keep his container alive. 'Besides, if Naruto dies, I die.' The fox had rationalized. The kit thing, that came later when the fox got tired of calling him boy; not that kit was much better in fox language.

Naruto smirked. His friends were in for a shock that was for sure. If they were still his friends anyway.

'Only one way to find out.' Naruto mentally prepared himself.

"So, we just going to stare at the gate all day or are we going to go in?" Jiraiya asked from beside Naruto.

"You're just anxious to try to peep on the girls you've been missing, especially a certain big-breasted blonde we both know." Naruto said dryly.

"You wound me apprentice, I would never be so underhanded as to 'peep' on girls!" Jiraiya said defensively.

"Oh that's right, its 'research'. And watch it with that apprentice stuff, I kicked your ass last time we fought, _Ero-sennin_." Naruto laughed.

"Damn sexy jutsu should be outlawed" Jiraiya said under his breath.

"Yes well, the point is to know your enemy and exploit any and all weaknesses, right?" Naruto glanced over at Jiraiya.

"I have taught you well, that's for sure, let's go, I'm starved." Jiraiya said walking towards the gate.

"Lord help my wallet." Naruto chuckled, keeping up with his sensei.

As they approached the gate, two Ninja stepped into the middle blocking their path.

"Halt, state your name and business in Konoha." The left one said dryly.

Naruto took in the pair. He extended his senses and noticed a few things. The two before him had the approximate chakra read of Chunnin level ninja and that the ANBU watching from the nearby tree was a female with a low Jounin level. Jiraiya stepped forward to answer.

"I'm Jiraiya, one of the three sennin's and this is Naruto Uzumaki. We have returned from our training and wish to speak to the Hokage." He said all business.

The two ninja's looked them over and seeing the leaf symbol on Naruto's headband stepped aside and motioned them through. The ANBU's eyes widened when she heard the names.

'Naruto's back!' she thought to herself.

She looked over the blonde and found he had changed drastically. She had to shake her head to refocus her thoughts and looked again. Naruto had turned his head just enough for her to see his eyes. They were looking right at her. Her heart skipped a beat seeing those eyes. They were still blue as sapphires, except they seemed slightly dull compared to when she had last seen them. Of course, that was a long time ago.

'I have to tell everyone.' She thought to herself as she disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto put his eyes back on the gate and followed Jiraiya through. The city hadn't changed all that much it appeared. The repairs from the invasion years ago were all complete. The stares of the villagers did little to annoy him as they made their way to the Hokage tower. Whispers were heard as they passed. No one seemed to recognize him.

'I guess either I've changed that much or everyone forgot me.' Naruto thought

"Not only do you look almost completely different but you don't act like you did last time these people saw you Kit. You have changed, for the better I think." Kyuubi said.

'Thanks for the compliment' Naruto sarcastically replied

_"Any time."_ the demon fox chuckled.

As soon as that was said, a foot came screaming at Naruto's face. He easily deflected the blow and jumped into the middle of the street. Another fist and then a foot came afterwards. Leaning to the side to avoid the fist Naruto caught the foot with his hand and twisted, taking the assailant into the air and slamming him into the ground. Naruto twisted the foot some more and leaned forward placing his knee behind his attackers who was now face down on the ground.

"YOSH! Your blazing flames of youth still amaze me Naruto!" screamed the attacker.

"Glad to hear it Lee. Are you done or do I need to break it?" Naruto replied twisting Lee's foot a little more.

"Hai, I am done. Just wanted to make sure you did not get rusty on your 'vacation'." Lee replied with a smile.

"Not hardly." Replied Naruto as he let the foot go and stood back up. Lee spun his legs around and sprang from the ground. He hadn't changed much, same bowl cut, same bushy eyebrows. He had grown though, he was heavier built and about as tall as Naruto now. His taste was still bad however, green and orange? At least Naruto picked one color.

"It is good to see you again, Naruto. We have missed you while you were away training." Lee said extending his hand.

"Oh good, so you all did get the letter I left." Naruto said, shaking Lee's hand.

"Yes, we were disappointed that you did not stay but we understood your reasoning's. Are you back for good?" Lee asked hopefully.

"Yeah I am. I'm looking forward to get reacquainted with everyone." The blonde said. "We are on our way to see Tsunade-sama before anything else though. Maybe we can get together afterwards?" Naruto asked leaning in.

"Besides, I'd like to test my speed against yours...without the weights we're wearing." Naruto said softly to Lee.

"What is your weight?" Lee asked eyes slightly wide.

"About 75 each." Naruto shrugged.

"Same here, it would be my honor to spar with you, we will see how far we have both come." Lee smiled back. "It is fortuitous that you have arrived today, tonight is our weekly gathering, and you should come and see everyone."

"I'd like that, where do you guys meet?" Naruto smiled.

"At the sushi place on the other side of the village, do you remember?" Lee asked.

"Yeah I remember. What time?" Naruto replied

"6 o'clock, I'll inform everyone I see that you will be there, do not let me down." With that, Lee picked up his legs and took off jogging down the road. "I'll see you later Naruto!" He yelled over his shoulder.

"That kid is still weird." Jiraiya commented once he was out of sight.

"Maybe, but he's probably the best Taijutsu specialist in Konoha besides Gai." Naruto said turning back towards their destination.

"We'll see after he fights you." Jiraiya said smirking.

"We'll see" Naruto repeated.

Elsewhere in Konoha

A kunoichi with bubble gum pink hair stood over one of her patients; one of the casualties of an ambush on a group of Leaf Nins. The sound's attacks seemed to be picking up lately. Thankfully, the casualties have been minor, but the injuries sustained tended to put the ninjas out of commission for an average of two weeks. This particular ninja had a few kunai stab wounds and was suffering from burns from a bad fire jutsu. The burns had to be healed slowly from the inside out to prevent infection. The stab wounds were already gone thanks to her treatments.

Sakura Haruno finished applying today's treatment to the burns. A few more days and he would be able to return to his home and recover completely. She sighed as she closed off the chakra to her hands and picked up her clipboard to record the progress. Sakura wrote the required notes and told the man a nurse will be in a little while with his lunch. She closed the door as she left and headed off down the hall. It was time for her break and she was really looking forward to it. It had been a busy day already and it wasn't noon yet.

She made it back to the floors nurse station and put her clipboard down. She shrugged off her medical coat and hung it on the rack.

"I'll be back around 12:30." Sakura spoke to the nurse behind the counter.

"Alright Sakura, have a good lunch." She smiled back and continued to write some more things down into a folder.

Sakura smiled and walked to the stairs, down to the entrance, and out the front door. She didn't know what she wanted to eat. She decided to head through town and see if anything peeked her interest. As she walked, she took in the city and the people around her. Things seemed calm for a village on the brink of open war with the Sound. People going about their day, shopping and selling. Children running around playing tag or 'ninja' as they called it.

She rounded the corner and saw a familiar sight. Ichiraku's Ramen stand. She liked coming to this place every so often. It let her remember the less stressful times in her life. Her favorite was when Team 7 tried to see what was below Kakashi's mask. Their attempt to get him to drop it while they ate had been laughable. He inhaled a bowl of ramen faster than Naruto ever could...

'Naruto...'

She didn't like to admit it, especially to herself, but she really missed him. She had been there with the rest of them when Tsunade read the letter he left for them all. It was hard for her to control the tears in front of her friends. Everyone looked down though that he had left to train himself. She had walked home that evening in a semi-aware state. Her thoughts to the last thing she had seen. His limp body being carried by Kakashi through the gate. He was moving as fast as he could. The blood was caked all over Kakashi's uniform and Naruto was passed out on his back. Sakura could feel her heart shatter over the scene.

She had caused that.

Making him promise to bring Sasuke back and knowing he would do it for her. She later heard from Kakashi that the wound to Naruto was a chidori. He was surprised that Naruto was still alive since it got him right in the chest. Sakura wanted to see him but Tsunade forbade it. She was the only one allowed to take care of him.

With the memories came the pain she felt in her heart. Her arms had subconsciously wrapped around her stomach as she stood staring at the stand. She had made it home that night, how she wasn't aware. She found another letter on her bed, addressed solely to her. She was afraid to open it, but she did so anyway.

Sakura-chan,

By the time you find this, I will be on my training trip with Jiraiya to parts unknown. I'm not sure when I'll be back. Nevertheless, I had to tell you something that no one else needed to hear.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I failed you. I promised to bring back Sasuke for you and I failed. In the end, it was our strongest attacks that decided the battle. I could have killed him. I could have ended everything right there. I held back...

I knew I could never face you again if I had killed him, no matter how I feel about him. I hope that in time you can forgive me for failing you. Know that as long as I am alive I will continue to search for him and will bring him back at some point.

I would have liked to tell you this in person, but I don't think I could stand to see the disappointment in your eyes. When I return, I hope that you can forgive me for not fulfilling my promise to you. I want nothing but your happiness, and I will make sure that you have it.

Naruto

She couldn't stop the tears from flowing. He felt the need to apologize even after he nearly died for something she asked of him. The following week was rough for her. She was deep in depression about losing Sasuke and then nearly losing Naruto. He had become her friend whether she wanted to admit it or not. The blonde fool had found a way into her heart and she didn't know when it happened. She was set straight when Tsunade came by and almost had to slap some sense into her.

"Do you think Naruto would want to see you like this?" She had yelled.

Sakura was shocked out of her funk with that one line. She had to be strong. She had to become stronger in order to help her friends. She realized her dream of being with Sasuke was foolish. That dream had nearly cost her a close friend, and he wasn't worth it if the cost was that high. Therefore, she dedicated herself to her work. Her medical skills increased exponentially under the direct tutelage of Tsunade. With her control as high as it was, most of the jutsus came easily, she just needed to know how to use them on living things. She was a fully qualified medic-nin in a few short years. She continued to work on her chakra control and reserves to better help her efforts. She also continued her training with Kakashi in the fighting arts so she would not be completely helpless.

As she grew older, she filled out nicely. Her chest was no longer flat much to the chagrin of Ino. She was now low C cup and that was plenty for her. Her hips rounded a little more giving her a knock out figure. She grew to about 5'10" and retained her slim athletic build. The guys noticed this and were quickly after her for dates. She turned them all down. She really didn't feel like getting involved with a guy she hardly even knew with all the raw emotions over Sasuke and Naruto still going through her. That's what she told herself anyway.

She was taken out of her trip down memory lane by a swirl of leaves appearing in a nearby alley. The dark uniform of the ANBU gave away it wasn't a threat, and the bear mask gave away who it was.

"What do you want Ino-pig?" Sakura asked with a half smile. They still enjoyed picking on each other even with their fan-girlitis gone.

"Hell, billboard, if you're going to greet me like that then I'll just keep the news I have for you to myself." Ino said removing the mask and hood, letting her blonde hair loose behind her.

"Oh you know I'm only joking, and what news could you have that I want to hear." Sakura said turning serious.

"He's back." Ino said smiling.

Two simple words. Two words and Sakura's heart stopped in her chest. She reached up and stifled the gasp that wanted to come out, hoping it would queue her body to start working again. Her eyes went wide and her focus blurred. Her thoughts turned inward.

'He's back? She could only mean one person!' Inner Sakura reasoned

"Naruto..." Sakura managed finally.

Ino stood smiling at her.

"Yep, saw him walk into the West Gate myself. He's changed. A lot." Ino said cryptically.

"He's here...in Konoha...right now?" Sakura couldn't wrap her mind around it. He had come back, he had changed, did he want to see her?

_'Too many questions, but when I see him, we're going to deck him then chain him up so he can't leave again...HOOSHA!'_ was Inner Sakura's input.

"Get a grip Sakura; he's on his way to see Tsunade-sama then who knows. He saw me, don't think he knew who it was but he could tell I was there. He's gotten stronger and he looks good." Ino said with a dreamy look in her eye with the last part.

Sakura could feel a tiny ping of jealousy hit her heart at Ino's words. She really didn't know where it came from but she knew what it was. With all the times she felt it over Sasuke; she knew that feeling quite well.

At that point, a green spandex blur shot around the corner and slid to a stop right in front of them. Lee was slightly out of breath from his 300 lap run around the village.

"Greetings my friends, it is a glorious day is it not?" Lee shouted as he took in the scene before him. Sakura looked about ready to pass out and Ino was smiling dreamily into nothing. His greeting succeeded in snapping them out of it though.

Sakura took in a deep breath and Ino shook her head to get the thoughts of Naruto's improved body out of her head.

"Hi Lee, have you heard?" Ino said while giving a small wave.

"If you are referring to Naruto's return then yes, I have in fact seen him today on his way to the Hokage Tower." Lee said matter of factly. "I attempted to surprise him with a few of my moves but he managed to turn the tables on me in a matter of seconds."

It took a moment for Sakura to process this then...

"You attacked him?" She shouted at Lee.

"Not in such harsh words. I merely tested to see if he had improved. It was amazing how he could keep up with me even if it was a short fight." Lee said with his hands stretched out in front of him placating Sakura.

"Well you wear weights most of the time, I'm not surprised." Ino said.

"Yes well apparently so does he." He stated turning towards Ino. Both girls' eyes widened at this.

'How much have your changed Naruto?' Sakura asked herself.

"Oh, he said he would be joining us tonight for the festivities at the sushi place. So you can get to see him then." Lee said happily.

"Well, I guess I need to go home and get the appropriate outfit then." Ino smiled to herself as she thought about what to wear tonight.

"You have a boyfriend already Ino, don't tell me you are thinking about trying to get with Naruto as well?" Sakura said mildly angry at her insinuation.

"Doesn't mean I can't get him to notice me. See ya tonight forehead." Ino smirked and disappeared.

"I will also see you tonight Sakura, I must complete my laps." Lee said and was off again.

That left Sakura in the street pondering what to do. She didn't expect this. Her emotions were twisted every which way as she thought about finally being able to see Naruto after so long.

'What will I wear?' She thought to herself

_'How about that little black number you have been hiding for a special occasion.'_ Inner Sakura waggled her eyebrows.

'You don't think that will be too obvious?' Sakura mentally asked

_'It will get the boy's attention and have him focus on you, not that it should be that hard.'_ Inner Sakura smirked.

'He probably doesn't feel the same about me anymore.' Sakura thought, upsetting her a little.

_'Only one way to find out isn't there chick.'_ Her inner self chided

'True.' Sakura responded and turned towards the hospital. Her lunch hour almost completely spent with the inner musings and meetings she just had. She would have to see about leaving early to have a little extra time to get ready.

Hokage's Tower, slightly later

The two men stepped out of the stairwell and made their way around the floor to the Hokage's office. Naruto could sense the two ANBU guards standing outside the office door even though they were not in sight yet. They were both mid Jounin level. He had taken to sensing as many people as he could to judge their ability. He kept his chakra level suppressed to mid Chunnin level to lure anyone with the same ability into a false sense of security. His power level, thanks to Kyuubi, was somewhere just above Jiraiya's. His experience was the only difference between the two sennin level shinobi.

As they approached the two guards, Naruto noticed both sets of eyes flick towards them. He noticed one had a block of some kind over the left eye. He focused and found that it was Kakashi.

'He must have given up teaching after Sasuke. I heard him berating himself on the way back from the Valley.' Naruto thought.

He turned his attention to the other man and noticed the glare he had been used to most of his life. This one still thought of him as the Kyuubi. If only he knew.

_"You sense that intent, Kit?"_

'Speak of the devil...yeah I feel it. We'll see what happens though.' He thought back

Once they reached the door, both ANBU looked at the pair directly. They both recognized Jiraiya and it only took a few seconds for Kakashi to recognize Naruto. The other had known immediately who Naruto was...or at least whom he thought he was. His fists clinched as he stood in front of them.

'It would be so easy' He thought to himself. 'The demon brat is low chunnin level at best and his guard is completely relaxed. I could kill him now and be done with the demon.'

With that thought, the ANBU shifted around a little and pulled a kunai into his hand. He kept it hidden under his cloak to let Naruto get closer for the strike. Of course, Naruto had felt the rise in his intent and was waiting for the moment.

Kakashi, meanwhile, had exchanged looks with Jiraiya and noticed the Sennin's smirk at the other ANBU. With a small shake of his head, Jiraiya told Kakashi not to interfere. Kakashi moved away slightly to see what would happen. He didn't have to wait long.

As Naruto took a step closer, the other ANBU quickly moved and sliced for Naruto's neck. For a moment, it looked like Naruto didn't even register the attack. Then, at the last second, his hand shot up and grabbed the ANBU's wrist. The kunai was a mere inch from his jugular and he had stopped his attack cold with one hand. The ANBU struggled with the power Naruto was showing against him. His arm was shaking from trying to complete the attack while Naruto didn't even look to be trying.

"You dare attack a fellow leaf-nin, and in front of the Hokage's office no less?" Naruto spoke softly.

"Your no ninja, your a demon, and I intend to kill you for what you did to my family." The ANBU tried to sound intimidating but it came out forced since his arm was slowly being pushed back.

"Your blind hatred made you mistake me for an easy target. I should end your life right now as you tried to end mine." Naruto said coldly while pushing the ANBU's arm away form his neck and down to his side.

The unnatural angle at which his arm was being held caused the ANBU to be pushed down with it. He was soon on his knees in front of Naruto with Kakashi staring wide-eyed and Jiraiya ready to burst out laughing. The ANBU was terrified under his mask; he had made a huge mistake on this one. Quickly Naruto freed the Kunai from his hand, grabbed it with his free one, flipped it around, grabbed the ANBU by his cloak and forced him to the door. He spun the kunai around again, drove it through the ANBU's cloak right next to his neck, and pinned him to the polished wood surface.

"Lucky for you, I'm in a good mood. I'll let you hang here and explain your actions to the Hokage." Naruto said as the thump of the kunai alerted Tsunade to someone outside her door.

"Enter" could be heard from inside.

As Naruto backed away, the ANBU was stuck hanging from the door about 3-4 inches off the ground. He had pissed his pants from the killer intent directed at him when Naruto spoke and the look in his eyes that he would indeed have died today. He promptly passed out. After hearing Tsunade's voice, Naruto pushed open the half of the door with the suspended ANBU on it.

From inside the office, Tsunade was aware that someone was outside speaking to the guards, but she was unconcerned at the moment. The paperwork backlog has subsided somewhat and she was reviewing a mission request when what sounded like a knock came at the door. She told them to enter and didn't look up until the door was open. When she saw one of her guards was pinned to the door she was immediately sent into fight mode. She hurdled the desk and was ready to beat someone down. She didn't recognize the tall blonde at the door and immediately identified him as the attacker. Her fist was swinging at his head before she could stop herself and what followed next would leave Jiraiya teasing her for years.

Naruto saw the enraged Tsunade coming at him but he remained calm. He knew her power and that if that fist connected they would be picking up what was left of him off the other side of Konoha...with a sponge.

He quickly side-stepped the punch while twisting around and grabbing her wrist. Using her momentum he kept her arm outstretched and wrapped his other arm around her waist. Kicking his leg out he knocked her off balance and dipped her as if they just were dancing. Her surprise was quickly doubled as the blonde laid a soft kiss on her lips while in her semi prone position under him.

"I missed you too Baa-chan." He said softly staring into her eyes.

Her blush was reaching her ears by now when what he said registered in her brain. Kakashi and Jiraiya were slack jawed at what Naruto had done.

"Naruto?" Tsunade looked up into his blue eyes and down to the whisker marks on his face.

"Who else calls you that?" Naruto sounded slightly hurt.

Her eyes continued down to his chest where she saw it. The necklace she had given him on the battlefield when they fought Orochimaru. She gasped and looked back up to his face. She quickly overcame her shock and forced her arm free. She wrapped them around him and squeezed.

"Naruto!" She squealed.

'That was a first.' All three thought at the same time. However, Naruto's supply of oxygen was quickly running out.

"Neesan...air!" He choked.

Tsunade heard his gasp and let loose. He quickly gasped in some much needed oxygen as she stood to look at him.

"You have grown so much, I didn't recognize you at all...and what did you call me?" She stood looking at him.

His hand traveled to the back of his neck in embarrassment, some habits don't die.

"Neesan...since you hate Baa-chan I thought you would like it better." He said honestly.

Tsunade quickly wrapped him in another hug, gently this time, and he wrapped his arms back around her.

"I missed you little bro." She said softly.

"I missed you too sis." He said back to her.

Clapping all of a sudden broke their moment as both Jiraiya and Kakashi wiped away fake tears and were sniffling at the reunion. Tsunade turned her glare towards them and they immediately stopped. She then stared at the ANBU stuck to her door. Her gaze turned toward Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

"He pulled his kunai on me; I showed him how to use it properly." Naruto shrugged. Snickers could be heard from the other two while Tsunade looked ready to kill.

She grabbed the unconscious ANBU and tossed him out the closest window..., which was down the hall.

"There, now come in I want to hear all about your travels." She motioned them into her office and Kakashi took up his solo guard.

"Good to see you again Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said while passing him.

"Its just Kakashi, Naruto, and I'm glad to have you back." He said to the blonde.

Naruto smiled and went to the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk. He removed the katana from its resting place on his back and placed it across his lap. Jiraiya leaned against the closest wall and took up his normal pose. Tsunade slipped back behind her desk and put the papers she was working on away.

The next few hours were spent with Naruto and Jiraiya giving her a report/rehash of their 6-year long training trip. Naruto disclosed some of his abilities to her and she was a bit skeptic until he offered her a demonstration at some time she was able. She smiled at the chance to see him in action after so long. Tsunade also enquired about his change in wardrobe and behavior to which he replied:

"We all have to grow up sometime, right?"

Tsunade only agreed while she was secretly jumping for joy that he had gotten rid of that hideous jumpsuit he always wore. As the time passed, Naruto noted he had to meet with the rest of his friends in an hour or so. Tsunade knew of their weekly gatherings and was glad he was going to see everyone tonight. He wanted a place to change and she offered him her personal bathroom to do so. He thanked her and walked in.

While he was in there, she turned her attention to Jiraiya.

"Is he really as strong as he says he is?" She asked seriously.

"No" He replied simply. She looked mildly sad at that until he continued.

"He's stronger." He said matter of factly.

"What?" She looked up confused.

"If he was in the right frame of mind, he could easily take me down if he wanted too. He has so much chakra he can keep throwing jutsus at you until you burn yourself out. His Shadow Clones are the real problem, he's become and expert at how to utilize them in battle and I don't even know if there is a limit to the number he can create."

"Then why did he down play it?" She asked, "I'm used to him flaunting his abilities."

"He's learned a lot over the years." Jiraiya said. "After we were attacked early on, he learned quickly that strategy and thinking ahead are important to stay alive. He's still the same great guy, just more mature and grown up than you remember. His experience with Sasuke really changed him the most though."

"I figured that had something to do with it." She said sadly. "My apprentice, Sakura, also has changed since then as well. I think seeing Naruto almost dead really shook her."

"Bout time she stopped chasing after the traitor. Maybe she'll wise up now." Jiraiya said

"We can only hope." She said bringing out a sake bottle and two small dishes.

In the bathroom, Naruto pulled out a scroll and unrolled it until he found the seal he was looking for. Jiraiya had taught him the sealing jutsus early on so that he could carry his stuff in scrolls instead of in a bag. He sealed his katana first and then unrolled further to find his clothes bag. With a little more blood, he had his bag of clothes and began changing. He removed his boots and shirt first. He then took his pants off and folded everything neatly. He took out a pair of black dress pants and slid them on along with some black socks and some nice shoes. The tailor in Water country had done a great job with the fitting; he was glad that he hadn't grown out of them. He readjusted his chakra weights on his ankles to be more comfortable. The ginjutsu he had on them and the ones on his wrists kept them hidden from view. As he pulled out a dark blue silk shirt, he caught his reflection in the mirror.

He looked and his eyes immediately zeroed in on the scar on his chest, just to the left of his heart. He rubbed it with his fingers and closed his eyes, breathing out a sigh.

'I wonder if Sakura-chan is mad at me.' He thought to himself.

_"Don't worry Kit; I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. Of course she may beat you first, but maybe she's changed too."_ Kyuubi answered.

'Maybe, we'll see tonight I hope.' He shrugged and put the shirt on.

He buttoned it up, leaving the top one undone and tucked Tsunade's necklace under the shirt. Tucking the rest into his pants, he got the black belt out of his bag, looped through the rings, and secured it. Untying his ponytail, he combed his hair out and reapplied the ribbon to it. A small girl in Grass country had given him hers after he saved her from some bandits. He smiled remembering her; she was so cute and shy after he had saved her. She wanted to thank him and she insisted he take it. Snapping out of his memories, he put his fighting clothes into his bag and sealed it into the scroll. He removed a small weapons pouch, attached it to his upper thigh, wrapped the scroll back up, and put it into his pocket. Checking himself one last time, he walked into Tsunade's office.

As he came out of the bathroom, Tsunade had to do a double take.

'When did he learn to dress like that?' She wondered as she took in his appearance.

"I take it you approve then sis?" Naruto asked as he smiled watching her reaction.

"Hell yeah I approve, where did you get those?" She asked getting back up to his eyes.

"A tailor in water country was having some problems with his shipments and we helped him out. He gave me a few sets of new clothes for the trouble. I couldn't turn down his stuff, it's the best." He said.

"Is that silk?" Tsunade asked feeling the sleeves of the shirt.

"Yeah, nice and cool yet tough enough to withstand some pointy objects at range." Naruto smiled. "I can have him make you some things if you would like sis, I'll just need your measurements. Of course he might have a nose bleed when we translate your bust into inches." He smiled as she blushed slightly.

"True, but I'll think about it. You're going to turn some heads tonight." She said smiling

"Time they got to know the new me, right? Well I better get going don't want to be late. Knowing Lee, all of Konoha knows I'm back by now. I'll see ya tomorrow sis." He said and kissed her cheek on the way by. He waived to Jiraiya as he stepped out the door and said later to Kakashi.

"I can hardly believe he's the same guy." Tsunade said shaking her head.

"Yeah, he'll catch everyone off guard with how open he is now." He said looking at the now closed door.

"Just how did that happen anyway?" Tsunade said sitting back down behind her desk and pouring the two some sake.

"It all started with a small girl in Grass..." Jiraiya started as he sat and took a sip of sake.

Across town, Sakura's apartment

To say that Sakura was nervous was an understatement. While back at work, she was able to focus on the job at hand and push all other thoughts out of her mind. Now that she was at home and looking at the clock, she was apprehensive about this evening's get together. She hadn't seen Naruto since she was 14. They had only known each other really those two years starting at the Academy when they were put on the same team. He had been the annoying, orange-wearing idiot that got in the way of her flirting with Sasuke Uchiha. How wrong she had been about his real worth.

He had helped her and saved her life more times than she could count. Especially keeping his cool against Gaara of the Sand. She had originally thought that Sasuke had saved her from being crushed to death by the sand-nin. In actuality, it was Naruto's doing that she was alive today.

As she walked through her apartment, she started to take off her work clothes for a shower. She stripped off her family red kimono that she usually wore and tossed it over the couch. Her hands slipped to her long spandex shorts and pulled them down as she stepped out of them. That left her in her pink bra and panties as she reached the bathroom. She stared at herself in the mirror. Her porcelain like skin held a slight sheen from the heat of the day. Her eyes traveled down her reflection and saw her chest.

'Those are a change from the last time we saw each other.' She thought giving a partial smile.

_'Hell yeah, everyone has been after you since you got those.'_ Inner Sakura thumbs upped.

'Yeah, but he was after me before then.' Sakura responded softly as she reached behind her and freed her breasts from their constraint.

_'Point for Naruto then.' _Inner Sakura smiled

Sakura's hands continued to trace her flat stomach lightly, her abdominal muscles jumping at the light touch. She then made it to the waistband of her panties. Pink bikini style cotton, nothing flashy and breathable. She pushed them down her legs and looked at what they covered.

'I wonder how many guys have wondered if I'm a natural pinky?' She smirked

_'ALL OF THEM...HOOSHA!' _Came Inner Sakura's response.

Sakura chuckled to herself as her fingers slowly traced over the thin triangle of soft pink hair that pointed the way to her sex. She liked having it trim; it bothered her when it grew out of control. Ever since she had learned to use her chakra to create a flawless shaving blade (thank you Shizune), she had kept herself trim and neat. Her pussy was actually clean-shaven, along with her legs, having done it this morning. She stood looking at her body for a while.

'I wonder how Naruto's changed.' Sakura thought, picturing the 14-year-old hyperactive ninja she remembered. 'Did he get taller, change his hair...' the possibilities were endless.

_'Just get in the shower and get dressed so we can get all the answers you want.'_ Inner Sakura admonished.

That was all Sakura needed to get her mind off the topic and into the shower. After she bathed, wrapped only in a towel, she moved to her room to finish getting ready. Pulling out the black dress mentioned earlier, she laid it on the bed along with a navy blue thong and strapless bra.

_'No panty lines tonight, oh yeah.'_ Inner Sakura nodded approving the choice.

Sakura dried her hair a little more and then wiped down her body one last time before dropping the towel into the dirty clothes hamper. She put on her underwear and her deodorant. Slipping on the dress was like putting on a second skin. It accentuated every curve of her body. She loved the way it made her feel hence why she got it. It made her feel beautiful and powerful all at the same time. She couldn't wait to see Naruto's face when he saw her.

Picking up a few kunai, she slipped them under the dress (which made it just above her knees) into the garter belt type holder found there. She slipped on some stylish flats and checked herself one last time. The black brought out the natural shine of her skin and was a great contrast to her hair. Her bright green eyes looked on approvingly as she smoothed the dress and applied some lip-gloss. Grabbing her key from the counter she stepped out the door, locked it, and walked towards the restaurant.

A block from Konoha Sushi

Naruto was making his way through the streets. Just about every woman he passed turned her head to check him out...even the clearly married ones. It gave his ego a little boost to know at least he was that good to look at.

_"Well what did you expect Kit? You've been training that body of yours for 6 years straight almost, it was bound to get some attention."_ Kyuubi chuckled.

'I'm glad that you're not so angry and temper mental any more fox, I really enjoy some of the times we talk.' Naruto smiled to himself

_"Well, you can't get me out, and I can't get myself out, so I might as well make the best of the situation as it stands yes?"_ The fox demon replied

'Too true, Kyuubi.' Naruto responded while rounding the corner.

He walked up to the entrance of the restaurant. It was a few minutes after six and he took in a big breath to calm his nerves.

_"Can face down 20 sound-nin without batting an eyelash and yet seeing your old friends has you as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."_ Kyuubi laughed

'Well, the opinions of the dead mean little don't they.' Naruto replied, smiling at Kyuubi's use of humor.

_"Touché."_ The fox demon replied.

With one final calming breath, he pushed the door and entered the restaurant. He quickly took in his new surroundings. It was quite an elaborate set up they had here. Polished wood was everywhere. The walls and dividers were all done in a fine mahogany wood with crazed glass in-between support columns. There was a podium of course with the hostess looking down over the reservation list. He looked around and saw the entrance to the kitchens tastefully off to the side and saw the sushi bar prominently displayed as the center of the restaurant. He continued to scan the tables until he saw a rather sizeable group of people sitting on the other side of the sushi bar. By the looks of it, a couple of flasks of sake had already been delivered and the people there were imbibing quite freely.

As he took a few steps toward the podium, the hostess looked up and took in the new guest. She subconsciously licked her lips as he approached with a small smile on his face.

"Evening sir, do you have a reservation?" She asked politely.

'Sir? That's a new one.' Naruto smiled to himself.

"No actually, I believe I'm with those nice folks over there." He said pointing to the group.

She turned and looked to where he was pointing and smiled.

"Ah, yes they did mention that someone different was going to be joining them tonight. You must be Naruto." She said smiling.

"That I am but I didn't catch your name." Naruto smiled back, extending his hand.

"Karen, I'm the usual hostess when those guys come in every week." She said reaching for his.

"Pleasure to meet you Karen." He replied smiling while looking her straight in the eyes. She blushed slightly at his attention.

"You can go join them, they told me to send you along as soon as you got here." Karen said while releasing his hand.

"Thank you very much." Naruto said and stepped around the podium.

As he walked around the sushi bar, he took in his friends from so long ago. Lee of course with his bowl cut and bushy brows. Thank goodness, he had changed into something more appropriate to dine in. He didn't look half bad dressed in a pair of Khakis and a collared shirt. He was discussing something with Kiba at the moment. The Inuzuka heir still had his face markings, indications of his clan. He was surprisingly without Akumaru, his faithful partner.

'Guess they don't allow animals.' Naruto thought.

He continued his observation. Shikamaru was there, wearing a loose shirt and pants. His hair was still long and put behind him in a ponytail so it wouldn't be 'troublesome'. He amazingly had his arm around Ino. Her bright blonde hair had grown out from his last encounter with her and was now back down to her lower back. She was dressed to kill with a dark purple dress that seemed to fit her nicely. He realized that her chakra signature was the one he sensed at the gate and smiled.

'I wonder if she is still the gossip queen of all Konoha.' Naruto smiled.

He noticed that Hinata was there as well. She had grown more beautiful over the course of the years. Her dark hair was still shoulder length and her pearl color eyes still could entrance you if you were to stare directly at them. It was not lost on him how close she was sitting to Shino. Nor did the ring on her left hand escape his notice. Shino of course was still looking quiet with his family's high collar jacket on and his shades covering his eyes.

'I'm happy she made it over her crush on me, as long as he treats her right.' Naruto thought to himself.

Moving two the last three occupants he had to smile. There was Choji; still feasting like there was no tomorrow. He was glad to see him back to his old self. His last sight of him was skinny and frail after his use of the food pills his family used to increase their chakra. Tenten was there in one of her kimono tops that she liked to wear. The pink silk tailored around her nimble body and made its way to a pair of tight, dark pants. She was currently talking to Neji. He didn't look too different except that he seemed taller and more muscular. Of course, the smile on his face was something that Naruto was going to have to get used too. The way he was holding Tenten's hand, he guessed they were together as well.

The lack of a pink hair girl didn't escape his notice.

'I hope she comes tonight. Out of all of these guys, she's the one I want to talk to the most.' Naruto sighed to himself.

_"Talk to, Kit?" _Kyuubi chuckled lightly.

'One step at a time fox.' He replied icily.

_"Sorry, just wanted to make sure is all."_ The fox laughed and went quiet.

Hinata was the first to look up towards the entrance to see if either Sakura or Naruto had shown up yet. Her gaze instantly locked onto the tall figure at the end of the sushi bar who was looking at them. His hair, those eyes, the whisker marks...she couldn't contain herself.

"Naruto-kun!" She said loudly, snapping everyone's head at the table around to stare at the new comer.

"Hey Hinata, how..." Naruto was cut off by said Hyuuga seemingly teleporting from her seat on the other side of the table and bolting to his arms. She flung her arms around his neck while he spun her around to break some of the energy at which she impacted him.

"I'm glad to see you too." Naruto smiled softly into her hair as he looked over her shoulder at the others who were all smiling now. Except Shino, he never did much of anything in terms of emotions, but the cocked eyebrow was enough to show he was curious.

"I suppose congratulations are in order, yes?" Naruto asked, releasing Hinata to stand on her own in front of him. He looked down at her and she blushed slightly but the stammering was gone. Apparently, her confidence issue had been solved.

"Yes, Shino and I are to be wed in a few months." She said looking into his eyes happily.

"I'm glad to hear it. Congratulations Shino, take care of her yeah?" Naruto said over Hinata giving Shino a mock glare.

To everyone's surprise, Shino chuckled softly.

"Of course, Naruto. I wouldn't dream of hurting her." He spoke in his emotionless tone.

"Good man." Naruto smiled and escorted Hinata back to the table.

He shared a hug with Ino and Tenten while he shook hands with all the guys. They were all still trying to absorb all the changes that had happened to Naruto. His tall and muscular frame were dragging the girls eyes all over the place while the guys didn't seem to notice as they were picking up the power vibe he was giving off.

As he was standing near the table answering questions that were coming at him faster than a million kunai, no one noticed the new arrival through the door.

Sakura was mildly late but that wasn't unusual for her. Her job usually kept her later than the others and the added think time she had to herself didn't help either. As she rounded the corner, she was straightening her dress and spoke before looking up.

"Sorry I'm late guys, was running a little..." Her voice caught in her throat as she took in the tall blonde standing next to the table. Those eyes were on her instantly and her heart nearly leapt from her chest at his gaze. His mouth was slightly open and his eyes were wide. They took a quick appraising glance down then up to lock on her green ones. The slight blush she could feel from his inspection was now reaching her cheeks' she couldn't look away. He turned slowly and took a few steps closer.

Naruto's mind was on overdrive. He could not form a coherent thought. There she was and damn did she look good. He could hardly breathe with the questions and thoughts running through his head. In the back of his mind, he knew the Kyuubi was speechless as well due to the raging conflict of emotions going off. A few more steps and he was in front of her; looking down slightly to her shorter frame. He wanted to grab her and hold her and apologize or something, he just could not move. It would be up to her at how they greeted each other.

Everyone at the table could tell something was about to happen. Whether she was going to deck him through the wall or hug him was the question. Many of the guys were betting the former since she was mad at him for a long time but Ino, Tenten, and Hinata could see the look in her eyes. He'd be lucky to still be standing with the force at which she would collide with him.

It took Sakura a few moments to compose her thoughts. There he was, standing in front of her. His hand was slightly outstretched, reaching for her before he seemed to think better of it. They were still staring into each other's eyes.

_'You'll have to show him you don't hate him girl. He's probably wondering why you haven't hit him yet.'_ Inner Sakura pressed.

With that, Sakura raised her right hand and the motion was not lost on Naruto.

'Here comes the hit.' He mentally sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for what he deserved from her.

The hit didn't come. However, the hand that wrapped around to the back of his head and brought his head down surprised him so that his eyes snapped open. Just in time to see her eyes closing in on his and their lips touch. The spike of electricity that went down his spine sent goose bumps all over his body. Her other hand was fisted in his shirt, keeping him close. As he realized what was happening he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her back chastely.

She didn't know exactly why she decided on this course of action, but as soon as his eyes closed and he returned the kiss with equal force, her eyes too closed and she relaxed into his arms.

Almost as soon as it started, it was over and she had moved her head to his shoulder with both arms wrapped around his neck.

"You jerk." She softly sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorr..." He was starting to reply until she squeezed him harder.

"Don't you dare." She rasped into his neck, her tears now falling on his collar. "I've missed you so much, promise me." She said quietly.

"Promise you?" Naruto asked rubbing his check into her hair and running his hands up and down her back softly.

"Promise you won't leave me again." She sobbed. The people at the table were slightly shocked, except the girls were semi expecting this.

He smiled to himself as he held her slightly trembling frame against his body.

"I swear on all that I am, I'll never leave you again Sakura-chan." He said into her ear, allowing only her to hear it.

She laughed through her tears as he said his affectionate title to her once again. She had missed him saying that to her. Now here he was, in her arms, comforting her.

_'As it should be.'_ Inner Sakura and Kyuubi said at the same time to their respective hosts, but it went unheard.

After her sobbing subsided, Sakura pulled away from Naruto and finally got a good look at him. Wiping her eyes, she could hardly stop the gasp at what she saw. His body had filled out nicely and he had grown so tall. His golden hair in a pony tail behind his back yet kept the scruffy look up top and in front. The whisker marks were still prominent on his cheeks but the tan he was sporting tended to dull them a little. His taste in clothes obviously improved as she took in his silk shirt and tailored pants. Her gaze finally made it back up to his eyes. They were still a startling blue as always, but they pupils now seemed a little elongated.

As Sakura was making her inspection, Naruto was making one of his own. She had grown very well. Her body now curvy and womanly in her tight black dress. Her long legs begging to be looked at.

'Damn!' Naruto thought as he passed her chest. 'When did she get those?'

He dragged his eyes from her breasts as he continued upward. The smooth look of her skin continued to her face. Her hair was still as pink as ever and still short, which caused Naruto to smile a little more. His eyes passed over her soft lips that had been on his just minutes before and were currently in a soft smile. Finally, he found them; those deep green eyes that haunted his dreams more times than he cared to count. They were slightly red from her crying but they held a light in them that he only saw when she was speaking about Sasuke before. Now they were looking deep into his eyes, and the light was still there.

"Wow, you look..." Sakura was at a loss for words at how to describe how he looked.

_'Sexy would be good.'_ Inner Sakura offered

'I don't want to scare him away now that I have him back!' Sakura mentally chided.

"As do you, Sakura-chan." Naruto said smiling. As he said this, his right hand came up and brushed her moist cheek with his thumb. His fingers extending into her silky hair as he did so. Her head tilted into his touch and her smile widened.

A loud cough brought them from their own little world.

"As much as I'm sure we all would like to sit here and stare at you two make goo-goo eyes at each other all night, we are kind of hungry." Ino smirked from her position in Shikamaru's arms. All the couples had gotten closer as they saw the two friends reunited.

The two had the good grace to blush as they realized they had been caught up in their little moment.

"We'll continue later." Naruto smiled into Sakura's ear as he put his arm around her and led her to the table.

Sakura blushed as he did this but allowed him to take her to the others. He led her to one of the two empty seats (that happen to be beside each other) and he pulled it out for her. As she sat down, he pushed it in and took his spot beside her.

The night proceeded with stories and happenings. Most of the time was spent catching Naruto up on the latest Konoha stories and gossip. He filled them in on most of his 6-year training/adventure with Ero-sennin. Once he had explained why he called him that, all the females became instantly bent on causing bodily harm. The group stayed eating and drinking through the night until the owner came forward announcing closing time. They were all shocked as they had never stayed that late and really didn't pay attention to the passing time. As they all got ready to pay the bill, Naruto took the owner aside and had a few words. After much nodding from the owner, he took the bill away and disappeared into the back.

The others looked at him curiously as he returned to the group and stood next to Sakura.

"What did you do?" Neji spoke first as the others were still confused.

"I told him to charge it to me and add a healthy tip for the sushi chef." Naruto stated matter-of-factly.

"You did what?" All of them shouted at the same time.

Naruto's smile only increased at the sight of his friends.

"No need to get violent." He raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I have actually been quite well off since the Gaara fight. They paid me for an S-Class mission on that one. I have also been making good money on the trip. Eating off the land for weeks also let me build up the ol' bank account. I figured I could pay for the first night out with my friends in 6 years, yeah?"

They all looked at him with slack expressions. He had calmly and rationally explained his reasoning, with out getting defensive or loud. It would take some time to get used to this new Naruto.

Sakura looked up at him with the same expression as the others. He glanced down at her and smiled softly. He then winked and smiled bigger. She felt her cheeks turn pink at this small gesture to her. A serious talk with the blonde was in order.

As they stepped outside, they noticed the temperature had dropped significantly from the normal warm day. As they broke apart, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone in the street, he noticed her shiver. Quicker than she could think, Naruto had a scroll out and was searching through the seals there. A quick bite on this thumb and a smearing of blood, a down jacket appeared in his hand. He threw it over his shoulder and re-rolled the scroll. Once he put it away, he turned to Sakura and laid the jacket gently over her shoulders. She pulled the sides further around her front and smiled up at him.

"Thank you Naruto." She said

"No problem, Sakura-chan." He smiled back. "Do you have anything planned tomorrow?"

"No, I usually have the weekends off." She replied.

"Good. I know there is a lot we need to talk about but it is late and I can tell that you are exhausted from today's events." Naruto said seriously.

Sniffling a yawn, Sakura tried to tell him she wasn't but Naruto nuzzled her cheek while she covered another one.

"You can't fool me Sakura-chan." He said smiling into her skin. As he leaned into her, he made one quick movement and scooped her into his arms. Her eyes widened at his move and she looked at him. "Where is your apartment?"

She told him the directions and he walked in that direction. As he walked, carrying her in his arms, she leaned her head into his chest and let her eyes drift shut. The safe and contented feeling she had been feeling in his presence only increased as she got comfortable.

"I'm so glad your back Naruto." She said softly.

"I'm glad to be back Sakura-chan." He said back, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

Sakura smiled and giggled. She was too comfortable and happy to care that she never did that. She looked up one last time at the smiling face of Naruto as he carried her towards her home. He looked down and his smile grew wider. Her eyes slowly started to close and her head found the crook of his shoulder. She sighed as she drifted off to sleep.

Naruto grinned as he heard her breathing slow and felt her body relax. He finally made it to her apartment and tried the knob.

'Locked off course. No problem though.' Naruto thought.

Directing some chakra into his hand, he held onto the knob. Molding it around the knob on the other side of the door, he tuned it to pop the lock. As the door cracked, he pushed it open with his foot and walked into her living room. It was nicely furnished. A plush couch and a few sitting chairs were arranged in a semi-circle to provide a view of the TV. It connected to a small kitchen with a breakfast bar and a couple of stools. There were state-of-the-art appliances with a large fridge. He continued to take in his surroundings as he moved to the back. The bathroom door was open but he steered into the open door across the hall.

It was neat and tidy just like the other rooms of the apartment. He noticed that the futon was unrolled and made with some soft sheets. He managed to move the sheets back and lay Sakura gently onto the bed. As he removed his arms from under her she let go of his neck and curled onto the bed. He gently took off her shoes and placed them next to her closet. Naruto turned back and covered her with the sheets and a blanket to keep her warm. As he finished tucking her in, he noticed the picture sitting on her dresser. He looked at it and he felt his heart clinch. It was the Team 7 picture. Kakashi was smiling in the background, under his mask of course. Naruto had his blinding smile on and Sakura had her demure smile on just like he remembered. There was a difference to the picture though. The third member was missing. It was carefully cut out to retain the rest of the picture. She had cut Sasuke Uchiha out of the photo.

'Does that mean out of her life?' He thought.

_"You'll have to ask her to know for sure."_ Kyuubi answered.

'Yeah, something more for tomorrow.' Naruto answered.

He turned back to Sakura and placed a gently kiss on her forehead. As he turned to leave, he heard her whimper. Turning around he was not prepared for what he saw. Sakura was clutching the sheet to her neck. Her brow was scrunched in a painful way and her knuckles were white. He watched as tears leaked from her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

"Please..." She whispered to no one. "Please don't leave me alone. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be that way to you."

Naruto was frozen. The next sentence moved him into action.

"Naruto, don't leave me. I can't take it if I lost you." She cried, tossing and reaching her arms out. Naruto was in them before she could say anything else.

"I'm here Sakura-chan. I'm here." He cooed softly. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly around his neck. Her sobbing increased and his shirt met her tears for the second time that night.

"Naruto?" She choked. Her grip tightened as she clung to him.

"I'm not leaving. Never again Sakura-chan, never again." He was close to tears himself. He had never seen her so broken. Even when Sasuke betrayed them all, she wasn't this bad. Had his departure really hit her that hard?

"I thought it was a dream." She said regaining some composure. "I thought that you coming back was a dream."

"Well its not, I'm here and I'll stay here as long as you'll let me." He continued to calm her.

"Don't leave me." She said again.

"I'm not leaving the village ever again." He tried to reassure her.

"No..." She paused and tucked her face into his neck. "Don't leave me alone right now. I've had nightmares almost every night. This is the first time I fell asleep peacefully."

Naruto was beside himself. Then he quickly kicked his naughty mind to the curb.

"If you want, I'll stay with you." With that, he kicked off his shoes and pulled to lay beside her on the futon. As they got under the covers and got comfortable, she placed her head on his chest and wrapped her arm around his stomach. Naruto's arm was under her head and massaging her scalp gently as his other was holding her draped arms hand. She sighed and squirmed a little before calming down.

"Good night, Naruto-kun." Sakura said softly as she drifted off with a slight smile.

Naruto smiled. "Sweet dreams, Sakura-chan."

Sakura tried to close her eyes tighter to the sun streaming through the window above her head. Last night had marked the best night's sleep she had had in a long time.

'All thanks to that wonderful dream...' she thought wistfully.

_'Dream? Are you sure? Seemed awful real to me!'_ Inner Sakura said, mentally stretching.

Sakura had to think on that one. She opened one eye and noticed she was alone in bed. She sighed, pulled the pillow next to her closer, and hugged it. She in haled as she tried to shake the disappointment of it not being real and that's when it happened.

'The pillow...' She inhaled again, closing her eyes and burying her nose deeper into the fabric. The image came swimming to the front of her mind. The scent that invaded her senses had become ingrained from the night before. It was his scent. Naruto's scent.

'How do I know that if it was all a dream?' She thought, her eyes opening and a smile forming on her face. Then another smell invaded her nostrils. The smell of eggs and sausage. She sat up slightly and then looked towards the door. There, on the floor, was a pair of nice oxford shoes. She quickly got up and noticed she was in the same dress as last night. Sakura quickly got changed into some more comfortable clothes and headed into the living room.

When she walked into the room, she noticed the table was set and there were already glasses of water and orange juice at each spot. She looked into the kitchen and saw Naruto working over two pans. He then pulled two plates from one of the cabinets and layered some sausage patties and eggs onto both. Sakura was still trying to get over the shock.

'He's cooking...for me.' She thought.

_'More points to the man.'_ Inner Sakura chimed, just as shocked.

As he turned around to go to the table, he noticed her standing by the couch, her mouth slightly open and staring at him.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan. I hope you don't mind that I made breakfast." He said with a soft smile.

Unable to trust her voice at the moment, she just shook her head and approached the table. He moved behind a chair and brought it out for her. She sat down and was tucked into place for the meal.

"Well go ahead and dig in, just got to get the toast." He said setting one of the plates in front of her.

The smell quickly queued her stomach to start grumbling and put her body into action. She took to the food quickly and found that it was delicious.

"MMM, thank you Naruto. It's great." She said between bites.

A soft chuckle came from the kitchen as he carried in a plate of toast and some butter.

"Glad you like it. Figured simple and light would be best to start off with." He said sitting down across from her.

The breakfast passed with light conversation and many compliments from Sakura. She caught him a few times staring at her when her attention had been elsewhere. Whenever her gaze caught his however, he wouldn't look away. He would continue to look deep into her eyes and a smile would grow on his lips. This had the additional effect of making a slight blush creep to her face as her eyes darted away from his. A soft chuckle would usually accompany the exchange.

After breakfast was complete and the dishes put away, Naruto and Sakura stepped onto her balcony and sat down on the swing she had out there. They got comfortable and Sakura decided to get to know her friend again.

"I know you gave us the overview last night, but what all have you really learned over the last 6 years?" Sakura asked looking at Naruto.

"I've learned quite a bit actually." He started. "Most of it I can't tell you though as I don't want to put you in danger."

"You mean from the Sound?" She asked softly

"Yeah, they would torture to know half of what I know now." He said looking into her eyes to show he concern.

"Are you really that strong?" Sakura looking at him with a bit of awe in her voice.

"I have to be in order to keep my promise to you and protect this village." He said looking back over the landscape.

'The promise...' Sakura cringed.

"Naruto..." She started

"Yeah"

"I don't want you to keep that promise." She said looking back at his face.

He spun his eyes to hers and locked them in place. He couldn't have just heard her right.

"What did you say?" He asked stunned.

"I've talked to a lot of people about this Naruto. Tsunade-sama and Kakashi just to name a few. I have also had a lot of time to think about things. I'm not the 14 year old girl you knew that had a crush on some dark haired boy."

Naruto sat there, staring at her and absorbing everything she was saying.

"I saw you when Kakashi carried you into the village. You were pale and blood was everywhere. I was angry that you didn't bring back Sasuke, but the more I thought, the more I was angry with myself. Angry that I almost got you killed for some stupid crush."

Sakura was gripping the rail of the balcony at this point. She was close to tears remembering how close to death he had come for her.

"I tried to come see you but Tsunade-sama wouldn't allow anyone near you. So I checked on everyone else to see how they were." A small sob escaped her as she remembered their various states of injury. "I can't believe we almost lost all of you for one traitor." She spat.

Naruto was up in an instant and had his arms wrapped around her from behind. He placed his chin on her shoulder as he pulled her closer. Her hands were on top of his and she leaned back into his embrace. The safe feeling instantly returned.

"I realized how important you are to me, Naruto. I felt so horrible that I had put you through that. When I got home after hearing your letter and then read the one you left me, I felt even worse. It took Tsunade-sama to snap me out of it and get my focus back. I trained to become stronger, so I wouldn't be a burden to you if you came back." She tearfully confessed.

"You'll never be a burden to me Sakura-chan. Thoughts of seeing you again got me through some of the really hard times on our journey. I just want to see you happy, that's all I want." Naruto said into her ear.

She shivered slightly as his breath caressed her ear. A tingling sensation went straight to her stomach and traveled further south until she felt herself get wet. The shiver made him hold her tighter and the feeling only increased.

'Damn it, not now.' She thought trying to squash the arousal she was feeling from his body and words. Her body though was not listening to her as she unconsciously leaned more into his warm body and tilted her head to the side to kiss him lightly on the cheek. Her rational mind finally came back and she got back to the conversation.

"Thank you Naruto, you don't know how much that mean to me. I don't hold you to that promise any longer okay. I do, however, want you to keep the one you made to me last night." She spoke softly.

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan, that's one promise I will never break." Naruto smiled into her hair as he hugged her to him.

Sakura sighed as the content feeling washed over her and her hormones were suppressed for the time being.

'Maybe after some time, we can see if there can be an us.' She thought. 'I'm just happy to have him back right now.'

Later that afternoon after more talking and getting to know each other again, Naruto and Sakura changed into their training gear and headed towards the practice fields. He had promised Tsunade a demonstration of his abilities as well as promised Lee and Neji some spars to prove he hadn't become weak. Sakura was a little worried as she had seen first hand how hard Lee and Neji have been training over the last 6 years and knew they were two of the strongest in the village.

As they approached the training site, they could see that a small crowd had gathered. It appeared that all the old Jounin sensei's as well as Iruka, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the rest of their friends were already there.

"I didn't know this was going to be such a spectacle, I would have charged admission." Naruto laughed as the two approached the group.

Iruka was taken aback by the changes in Naruto. However, the sense of humor was still there so he apparently didn't change that much. He quickly hugged Naruto who hugged him back and welcomed him home.

"Well, let's not keep the crowd waiting." Naruto said. "Which one of you guys is first, or both at once?" He smiled cracking his neck and warming his arms up.

"I think one at a time will be sufficient to put you in your place, Naruto." Neji spoke calmly in his no-nonsense Hyuuga voice. Everyone could tell he was stressing it though.

Naruto just laughed.

"Fine, fine. Just let me warm up a bit while you decide who's first." He stepped away from the group and began to work his arms and legs a little. He then stood completely still in the middle of the clearing and focused on his chakra.

'From my senses, looks like Neji has mid-high Jounin level chakra. I can't read Lee since he's Taijutsu only but I can feel that he's grown stronger as well. These will be some interesting fights.' He thought as he centered himself.

_"Don't hurt them too badly Kit, you will need them soon." _Kyuubi reminded him.

'Yeah, I know. Just want to see how far along they've come.' He smirked, let a burst of chakra flare up, and then back down again. He quirked an eye to see if this got their attention.

'Yep, got them interested now.' Naruto thought.

_"You sure to like to keep them guessing don't you?"_ Kyuubi chuckled.

'Absolutely.' Naruto smiled

Everyone around quickly put their eyes on Naruto when they felt the chakra spike. Thoughts were various amongst them but they all came down to one subtle question: 'How strong is he?'

Neji and Lee had a two out of three Rock, Paper, Scissors match that Lee won and decided he would go first and apologized to Neji for not getting a chance at Naruto.

"We'll see." Neji smiled as Lee took the field. The rest made themselves comfortable to watch the match. Soon, everyone was placing bets on the outcome. Most were in favor of Lee since this would be a Taijutsu only match.

As the bets were all laid out with various amounts of time as how long Naruto would last, Jiraiya spoke and shocked them all.

"Naruto will win and he'll do it in less than 10 minutes." He smirked as the chorus of yells came his way.

"No offense against Lee, I've just been around Naruto for the past 6 years and let me tell you, even in a Taijutsu only match, Lee is outclassed." He spoke with pride but no hint of bragging in his voice.

The response was interrupted by Naruto's voice.

"Weights or no weights Lee?" He asked turning to face his opponent.

"No weights, Naruto. I would like to see just how strong you have become." He responded.

"Fine, hold on a sec." Naruto said while flying through hand seals. He didn't speak a word as he thrust both hands on the ground and a seal formed beneath him. A bright red glow enveloped the area as a bubble surrounded all those present and then turned transparent.

"What did you just do?" Tenten asked from beside Neji who had activated his Byakugan along with Hinata.

"We're surrounded by a field of some kind." He calmly stated as he looked around.

Jiraiya was the one to explain.

"This is one of the first things I taught Naruto on our travels. Its good to practice your skills but if you do it where everyone can see you then what's the point." He started. "So during the sealing lessons I taught him how to construct a privacy dome, if you will. This seal erects a barrier whose dimensions can be manipulated by the sealer. It will basically allow people to see what the sealer wants them to see."

"Right now" Naruto spoke up standing to his full height. "Anyone who is not within the dome only sees us standing around and practicing basic stuff they teach at the academy. No one can see or sense what we are really doing. Even the Byakugan will see what I want them too, except they will also see the chakra of the dome as well."

Everyone looked back impressed that this sort of thing is possible. How many more surprises did Naruto have?

"Now that we won't be seen and our abilities won't be leaked, let's do this." Naruto said as he took the ginjutsu off his weights.

Kurenai looked on in amazement, as she had not even sensed that there was a genjutsu present in the area at all. Naruto took off his wrist weights one at a time and threw them to the side where they impacted with a deep crater and some dust. Lee was doing the same as they both removed their leg weights.

"Sakura, if you could start us off please." Naruto spoke as they both took their placed into the center of the field. She stood and held her hand up.

"Lee are you ready?" She spoke; Lee nodded, never taking his eyes off Naruto.

"Naruto are you ready?" Naruto did the same.

"Fight." She yelled as her hand dropped. Lee quickly disappeared from view as he moved to attack. Naruto remained standing in the same spot his eyes moving around the field.

On the sidelines, Hinata and Neji were giving a soft spoken play by play of Lee's movements. They could trace him with their eyes but it was difficult since he was not using chakra to boost his abilities.

A few seconds ticked by as Naruto remained standing still waiting for the attack. He didn't have to wait long. As the kick to his face came sailing from his right, he quickly put up his arm to block it. That was the first look the onlookers got of Lee's location. Lee looked slightly surprised that he didn't hit him but didn't let that deter him. He moved again to approach from a different side.

As the match continued, Lee approached from every angle and yet Naruto always managed to block or deflect his attack. Finally, Lee decided to move in for a combo and see if he could breach his defenses. As the flurry of punches and kicks reigned down, Naruto found that he was a match for speed but Lee's experience once again gave him an edge. He quickly fainted a high kick, spun it into an open palm chest strike, and pushed Naruto back a good 10 feet.

"Now you're getting serious, it's about time." Naruto said rubbing his chest. He then fell into a stance that none of them had ever seen before.

"My turn." Naruto smiled as he too disappeared. However, they didn't have to wait long for his location. He came right behind Lee and his kick was barely blocked by a raised leg. Both fighters disappeared and started reappearing all over the field in different block and deflection stances. A few more of those and finally the fighters remained in the same general location and attacked each other. As the kicks and punches continued between the two, an opening finally presented itself and Naruto took advantage. As Lee's fist came at his face he slightly moved right and brought his fist up between them in an uppercut fashion. Lee was out of position to avoid or block so he decided to attack and get his own hit in. Their fists both stopped an inch from each other's face as their sudden stop caused the wind to blow around them and ruffle their hair. Naruto's fist was a centimeter away from Lee's chin, while Lee's left fist, which he brought around, was about half an inch from Naruto's temple. Both blows would have been crushing to the other and probably resulted in a double KO.

As the two fighters stepped away from each other, they both bowed and turned to the awe struck audience. Both Hinata and Neji deactivated their eyes and blinked a few times.

"I couldn't see that last exchange." Neji said quietly. A nod from Hinata said that she couldn't either. Both Naruto and Lee smiled at this.

"Yeah, sorry about that, guess we got a little carried away." Naruto smiled, scratching the back of his neck.

"YOSH! You are incredible Naruto. No one has been able to keep up with me when I went all out, no even Gai-sensei." Lee spoke in his normal exuberant voice. On the sidelines, Gai had tears in his eyes and was mumbling about flames of youth.

"Well you can thank Gaara for helping me train my speed." Naruto said. "Once I had the weights on for a while, we passed through Sand and we spent a few weeks there. Gaara insisted that I train with him everyday. If I could beat his sand shield, then I could beat just about any other ninja in speed. At that point though, I could barely get close but it was a good learning experience."

The inner musings of the group were cut short by a frantic shouting.

"Tsunade-sama!" Came a female voice towards the clearing. As they all turned they saw Shizune come running towards them. Naruto and Lee quickly put their weights back on. Naruto reapplied the genjutsu and dispelled the barrier as Shizune entered the clearing.

"Tsunade-sama, there is a problem." She said almost out of breath.

"What's going on?" Tsunade said in her Hokage voice.

"We have just received reports that the Sound army is approaching the boarder. Reports have their strength at nearly 1,000 ninja."

Everyone around met this information with steely determination.

"Guess we didn't have as long as we thought." Naruto looked to Jiraiya.

"Guess not, we need to get all the ninja in the village together and start planning a defensive strategy." Jiraiya said to Tsunade who merely nodded while thinking up options.

"That's not all Tsunade-sama." Shizune continued. Her eyes met Naruto's and she spoke again. "Sasuke Uchiha is leading them."

The entire gathering of people turned at the huge chakra flash that erupted form Naruto. It was quickly suppressed but it still got their attention.

"How far away are they?" Naruto asked seemingly calm.

"Three days, four at the most." Shizune said.

"Damn." Naruto quickly bit his thumb and thrust his hands at the ground. His summon quickly brought forth a small silver fox. He pulled out a letter from a scroll and handed to the fox after putting another jutsu on it. "Take this to Gaara of the Sand. Stop for no one and go directly to him, he should be expecting you." The fox nodded and took off towards the land of Sand.

"He should make it there by tomorrow morning; he's the fastest one I have. Gaara will bring about 100 sand Nins to balance the fight, not to mention Kankuro and Temari will also be with him so that will give us a huge advantage." Naruto spoke.

"When did you plan this?" Tsunade asked looking at Naruto with a look mixed with shock and awe.

"We made this deal when we were in Sand last." Naruto explained. "Since we became 'brothers' of sorts we agreed to help each other if in need. If Sand ever gets attacked, he would expect us to do the same."

"Great work Naruto. That will help us hopefully turn the tide in our favor. Right now, we need to prepare. Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Gai; I need you all to gather every ninja genin to ANBU and get them to the Hokage tower immediately."

"Yes Ma'am." They said in unison and sped away into Konoha.

"The rest of you with me, we're going to plan a warm welcome for the Sound." Tsunade smiled and the group sped back to the Hokage tower.

At the Tower, two hours later

After rounding up all he ninja in the village and most of the council members, Konoha's military might was gathered in a large auditorium to be briefed on the situation by Tsunade. A banging on the pedestal on stage stopped the chatter in the room.

"Now let's get on with this." Tsunade said in her strict voice. "The Sound army is coming and they are 1000 ninja strong," She said getting right to the point.

Uproars at the numbers and the fact that Konoha only had about 700 ninja were the main objections.

"QUIET!" Jiraiya roared from the side of the stage releasing enough killer intent to make an ANBU soil himself. It worked, and once again, Tsunade spoke.

"Don't sell our village short. We have the best-trained shinobi in all of the elemental countries. Also, thanks to Naruto, we have 100 Sand-nin coming to our aid as well."

Before shouts of 'can't trust the demon' and 'he's only a genin' were voiced, Tsunade cut them all off.

"He's just returned from a 6 year long training mission with Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sennin. He's stronger than most of the ANBU in this village so keep your traps shut."

The hall was completely silent.

"Now, we have much preparation to do as the Sound is supposed to be here in 3 days. Here is how this is going to work. Genin, you will all help the villagers move into secure facilities and remain their to protect them should any enemy nins make it into the heart of the city. You will be dressed in casual attire with your ninja bands hidden so as to have the element of surprise."

All the Genin's in the room nodded.

"The rest of you will prepare the village defenses and ensure that a rotating guard is always on patrol, looking for scouts or an early assault force. We will be dividing the Chunin and Jounin into thee men teams for the battle. They will not catch us unaware this time."

All the ninja nodded.

"Tomorrow you will learn your team assignments and positions until then do what you have to do to prepare for the fight ahead. Dismissed."

The hall cleared out quickly as many went home to be with their families and loved ones before the battle. The group that arrived with Tsunade stayed and started forming strategies for the battle. It was agreed upon that if Orochimaru was there that Tsunade and Jiraiya would take him on together. This would leave Kabuto to a team lead by Shizune and since he had the most experience with the traitor, a team led by Naruto to take Sasuke.

"If you can take him alive without endangering your team, I want Sasuke returned to this village to face punishment." Tsunade spoke to Naruto. "However, if that is not possible, you are authorized to kill him to ensure that the Sharingan is never used against this village again."

"Understood." Naruto replied.

"I'll let you pick who you want for your team since you know what will work best." Tsunade said.

"It will just be me Tsunade." Naruto spoke calmly.

"What, Naruto..." The rest spoke out only to be stopped by a raised hand and a soft smile.

"I know how the teme fights with that cursed seal and with the Sharingan. None of you has had the chance to take him on before. Besides, with as much power as we both put out at the Valley of the End, anyone else would be hurt in the crossfire. I can take him on alone and that will leave two highly skilled ninjas to augment the other teams. This is not some bravado or vendetta. The lengths that we will go to will only put others at risk if they are in the area. It's as simple as that." Naruto finished lowering his hand.

The rest of them looked at him with much respect. He was looking out for them and he made valid points. None of them had ever fought Sasuke so they really didn't know what to expect. It was for the best that Naruto take him on alone.

"Its settled then, now go to your families and be prepared." Tsunade dismissed them. They each went their separate ways to spend time with each other and their families. Naruto remained behind with Jiraiya and Tsunade. Unknown to them, Sakura waited outside the door for Naruto to finish.

"You do realize there is a strong possibility that there is no Sasuke Uchiha anymore." Naruto said softly. Jiraiya only nodded his head at this.

"You mean..." Tsunade started but Naruto finished.

"If Sasuke has been with Orochimaru the entire time, he has had ample opportunity to take his body like he planned. It maybe Orochimaru leading this army, not Sasuke." Jiraiya spoke.

"We'll see when he gets here. It should be easy enough to tell. Also he has no clue about my training so it should be a surprise for me to take him on." Naruto said while thinking.

Tsunade and Jiraiya both nodded at this. Naruto was their ace in the hole as it where. If Sound had been spying on the leaf, then there was no way for them to see or know Naruto was as strong as he was. Not to mention they had no clue Sand was coming to support them. If all went well, Sound would be crushed in their own attack and this war would be over.

Sakura stood outside the door, thoughts rumbling through her head. Naruto was supposed to fight Sasuke alone, and it was a chance that it would be the Sanin in his body anyway. That didn't sit well with her.

'I just got him back, I can't lose him again.' She thought.

_'What are we going to do?'_ Inner Sakura asked, also distraught at the idea.

'Give him a reason to live through this.' Sakura said smiling.

That night, Sakura's apartment

Sakura had already told her family everything that was going on and what would be happening. They were both scheduled to head towards Wind Country tomorrow on another selling trip so they would be out of the village when the attack came. She told them to be safe and that she would be with her friends tonight. That was partially true; she was going to be with one friend.

Sakura had asked Naruto over for dinner so they could talk some more. Of course, that talking was down on Sakura's list of things happening that night.

'I guess we'll find out if he wants to be with me tonight huh?' Sakura asked herself as she put on her outfit for the evening.

_'Yep, but he would have to be gay to turn you down.' _Inner Sakura laughed.

'We'll see.' Sakura thought back.

Naruto was slightly apprehensive about going to Sakura's. She had been very insistent that he spend the evening with her at her apartment. He was far from dumb that she just wanted to talk; he just didn't know what else was on her mind. He approached her door and knocked. He was dressed much as he was the other night. A nice pair of pants and a green silk shirt this time. His sealing scroll was in his pocket incase anything went down early.

He stood there as he heard someone approach the door. When it opened, he almost lost his jaw through the floor. Sakura stood before him in a red evening dress. The two ties wrapped around the back of her neck and where thinly covering her collar bone. The chest was cut low to show of her now impressive cleavage. The sides hugged her hips like it was painted on and it was short, only extending to mid thigh.

He stood there, mouth agape, flowers in hand and eyes bugging wide. She laughed softly at his expression. He apparently approved of the outfit.

'Well, that was more than I was expecting.' Sakura smiled inwardly.

She reached out and gently closed his mouth by pressing a finger under his chin and holding it closed. This seemed to snap him out of his reverie and he mutely handed her the flowers, not taking his eyes off hers.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." She said softly while taking the flowers. She put pressure on his chin with her finger and pulled him into the house. She gently closed the door, locked it, and moved to put the flowers in a vase. As she walked away, she swayed her hips a little more than necessary but it got the desired result...well if the spike of chakra was any indication of his control at the moment.

His mind was trying to process the scene before him. She was gorgeous. She was also looking at him with a face he had never seen on her before. If he had to put a word to the face, it would have to be seductive. The slowly blinking eyes and the soft smile she wore did nothing for his control right now. Hell, the dress was almost enough to break him. What really set his brain to boil was when she called him Naruto-kun and sashayed away with those hips of hers. Did she have any idea what she was doing to him?

_"She knows exactly what she's doing Kit."_ Kyuubi responded to the unasked question. _"I hope you are up for this."_

'Not like I was nervous enough as is.' He mentally responded which got a snicker out of the fox.

_'Phase one complete, he's got to be shocked at that display.'_ Inner Sakura checked off a box on her clipboard.

'Hopefully we're not putting this on too thick.' Sakura said worriedly as she placed the flowers into a vase and set them on the table. The food was ready to be served and she turned back towards Naruto who was moving towards the table. 'We'll find out soon.'

The evening progressed more normally as they ate dinner. They talked anything but the battle since they didn't want to ruin a thus far great night. As the dessert was finished and the dishes put away, they settled onto the couch to relax and talk some more. Sakura took the opportunity to make herself comfortable against Naruto by cuddling up to him. He was a bit stiff at first, but he quickly put his arm around her and allowed their closeness to warm him. After a little while, Sakura decided that it was time to see how deep his feelings ran.

"Naruto." She said softly, leaning up away from him and placing a hand gently on his chest.

"What is it Sakura-chan?" Naruto spoke looking her in the eyes. He caught glimpses of emotions he hadn't seen in her eyes before. At least, not directed at him.

"I want to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me." She said still looking him in the eyes.

"Of course, I'd never lie to you." Naruto started getting warm; her presence was suddenly causing him to overheat.

Sakura took a deep breath. 'Here it goes.' She thought.

"Do you love me?" She asked calmly.

Of all the questions she could ask, he was not expecting that one. Of course, he said he would never lie to her so he had no choice but to come clean.

"Yes." He said quietly. He had to turn his head. He was used to rejection by now but seeing it in her eyes would destroy him now that she knew how deep his feelings ran.

Her hand reached out and pulled his eyes back around to hers. A single tear ran down her cheek. She forced herself to keep going and get all the answers.

"How long?" She asked her voice still soft as her hand pressed against his cheek.

"Love?" He asked and she nodded. "Since the chunin exam. A desire to get to know you and be close to you, since the Academy."

Sakura's eyes widened at his confession. 'How, after everything I did to him?' She thought.

As if reading her mind, Naruto kept going.

"It's always been you. I don't know why exactly. I have yet to be able to explain it. I've always felt drawn to you. As silly as it sounds it's the truth. When I noticed you wouldn't have eyes for anyone except Sasuke, I tried to move on. I thought about Hinata or someone else but I could never move past the thought of it and take any action. I couldn't stand to see you hurt when he kept ignoring you, so I did what I did best. I got your mind off of it by being mad at me."

"What?" She looked horrified.

"All I have ever wanted was your happiness." A tear now graced his cheek as he looked into her eyes. "If that meant that I had to stay back and just support you and Sasuke then I would do it. I tried to keep you out of the funk you seemed to get into when Sasuke turned you down. If you being mad at me was what worked, then I did it."

Both of Sakura's hands where now on his face. She looked back and forth between his eyes, knowing that he was bearing his soul to her right now. Her position had changed unknown to them to straddling his lap. He was still not touching her, his hands by his sides.

"Idiot..." She said softly, her forehead leaning to touch his and her eyes closing.

"What?" He asked quietly.

"I've been an idiot." She said opening her eyes and looking into his. "I nearly lost the best thing in my life because of some stupid crush, and I was too blind to see it." She said stroking his whisker marks.

"What are you...?" Naruto started but was silenced by a gentle kiss on the lips.

"I nearly lost you. The one person in my life who always supported me, always cared for me, and has saved me more than a dozen times." More tears poured from her eyes. "It took you being nearly killed and then leaving to realize what I had with you. The hole in my heart when Sasuke left was nothing compared to the emptiness I felt when you were gone."

"I was so stupid to keep putting you down just because everyone else didn't think you were worth anything. I don't know how you can forgive me for all the horrible things I've done to you." Sakura cried out as her emotional control broke.

"We were young." Naruto replied with a slight smile. His hands now cupping her face and wiping away her tears. "I don't hold anything against you nor will I ever. I just want you to be happy."

"And if the only way I can be happy was to have you in my life?" She said, a serious look in her eyes to prove to him she was truthful.

"Then I would gladly be in your life for as long as you'll have me." Naruto smiled.

Sakura smiled. A truly bright and beautiful smile that Naruto had not seen on her before. She leaned forward and softly pressed her lips to his. Their eyes close together as his hand slid down her arms and around her waist to support her as her arms wove their way around his neck. The kiss slowly started becoming deeper as Sakura's tongue licked his bottom lip and he slowly opened to allow her access. Their tongues pressed and massaged each other as they explored this new feeling between them. Naruto's hands rubbed up and down her back as her fingers gripped his soft hair and pushed him more forcefully to her.

Naruto had not expected this when he came over tonight, but he was very happy that it was happening. He would let her set the pace for this. He already knew what his heart wanted; she just had to ask.

Sakura could tell that Naruto was very into the kiss, but he was not going to go any further unless he knew where her mind was. He was not going to take advantage of her and she found that she loved that about him.

She slowly broke the kiss while placing a few more soft ones on his lips and looked into his eyes. He had let down his guard with the kiss and every emotion he was feeling was there for her to see. Trust, loyalty, respect, kindness, and most importantly, love. She felt it when they kissed how much he loved her and how much he was willing to go through for her happiness. It was time to let him be a part of that happiness.

"Naruto." She said softly only a scant inch from his face.

"Yeah?" He spoke, his voice slightly cracking with emotion.

"I love you." She said onto his lips as she went to kiss him again. His arms quickly came up and hugged her to him tighter than ever before.

He couldn't believe it. He was hoping and praying to any deity out there that this was not another dream. The pressure of her tongue on his and the feeling of her hands in his hair confirmed his reality. Sakura loved him. That's all that mattered right now.

As they slowly broke the kiss, he kissed her nose and smiled his big goofy smile.

"You have no idea how long I have waited to hear that." He said to her laughing. "I don't want to sound rude but are you sure. I couldn't take it if your weren't positive."

"I'm sure, Naruto-kun." She said smiling back at him. "I feel safe and warm when I'm with you. I don't know what I would do without you in my life."

"You'll never have to worry about that, I'm not going anywhere." He said and kissed her again.

-Lemon Insert: Go to Author Information for the Link. On with the story.-

"I love you, Sakura-chan." He spoke while moving hair out of her face and kissing her lips.

"I love you, Naruto-kun." She said softly placing a hand on his chest and feeling his heart beat. They laid there for a while longer, cuddling and kissing each other. They decided to take a shower and clean themselves. Naruto had to help Sakura to the bathroom since her legs didn't want to work at the moment. The gently washed each other and cleaned themselves before moving back to the bed. Pulling the sheets back and climbing in the couple covered themselves and snuggled close. Sakura using Naruto's chest as a pillow and Naruto wrapping his arms protectively around her.

They drifted off to sleep, a contented smile on their faces, hoping in the back of their minds that they both will make it through the week to explore their future together.


End file.
